In the Branches of Agata's trees
by Masaki-Hanabusa
Summary: Waka has lived over 200 years. Many great and terrible things can happen in that amount of time. Waka's past. T for blood.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I love the game Okami. For those who haven't played it, you definitely should! The artwork is amazing! I really love all the characters, but my favorite of all of them is Waka! He is both hilarious and mysterious. I completely love him, he's just that awesome! With his dialogue and everything, I think if there was ever to be an Okami anime, Vic Mignonia would be perfect to take the role of Waka. Oh, and the following has heavy spoilers, so if you played or beat it yet, I suggest you may want to turn around and look at another story. Or you can continue reading. Its your choice really.

* * *

Blood. There was so much crimson blood spilt that day. It seemed like no other color had existed but red. Hundreds of thousands dead, bodies piling high, and the body count was still rising as the slaughter continued. Men, women, children; no one of the moon tribe was spared from the viciousness. Those who remained alive for the moment hid, waiting, knowing they would eventually meet their end. One, however, was not the type to hide and wait to die. Waka refuse to die this way, hiding and waiting for death.

Waka watched from his hiding spot in the shadows as bodies continued to fall to the ground, blood soaking golden locks. Tears stung his eyes as he saw a small child, the little girl's throat being slashed at mercilessly. She collapsed in a bloody heap. The disgusting demons ran off as they saw another target, not noticing Waka's presence. Besides the dead and barely living, the area was empty. Waka held his breath as he thought of someway to escape form the madness. He knew the task would be nearly impossible, but there was a single option that might be able to provide his safety, a future. The Ark of Yamato. It was forbidden to go aboard the great vessel; it was said a great evil being lived inside, trapped centuries ago. But of course, that was simply a myth.

Even though his body was shaking, his face remained calm. He bit his lower lip, drawing a drop of blood before leaping out from the shadows into the corspe filled streets. He ran, and ran, making sure not to step on the mangled bodies of the moon tribe. His mask of calm was cracked as he spotted through the dead his younger brother, his head nearly severed. Waka wanted nothing more than to scream, to cry, hold his dead brother in his arms, but he knew that would only cause him to meet the same fate. He continued to run through the streets, before any of the vicious demons came and spotted him, leaving his little brother to rot alone.

Waka gave a small cry of joy as the Ark came into his view. The large vessel, he knew, would be his only salvation. Suddenly, three demons emerged from the ground, where the had been hiding, laying in wait. The green beasts flashed bloodstained claws and yellow fangs, forbidding the youth from passing. They crouched down low, ready to pounce at any moment. Waka's hand lowered down to his side, slender fingers slowly gripping the hilt of his sword, Pillowtalk. The second he took hold, the green monsters lunged at him, murderous intent shining in their eyes. With a swift movement, the green demons suddenly fell, blood spurting from their wounds. Waka looked at his now unsheathed sword, now stained with their dark maroon blood. He wiped it clean on his kimono, before stepping over the demon corpses. He was glad that his father had taught him how to properly fight; since the moon tribe was rather peaceful and undisturbed, there was not to much need for the art of swordsmanship. He was one of the few who could actually use one.

The closer he got to the ark, the greater the body count seemed. Many of the tribe had the same idea as he did, but they were too weak to succeed. Waka tried to ignore them when he saw movement. A young, blond woman, her kimono drenched in both her own and strangers' blood, desperately tried to move the body that was laying on her lower body. She was beautiful, a green bow on the top of her head that mad her seem like she had bunny ears. She was badly injured. The woman spotted Waka running past. She was surprised anyone was still alive besides her.

"P-please! H-help me!" she cried out in a horse voice, tears glistening as she started to lose consciouness. Waka paused momentarily to look at her. He wanted to save her, but by the looks of her, she'd be dead quite soon. Waka turned his head and hurried onward, leaving the poor girl to die. The blond woman passed out.

Soon, Waka stood before the doors of the great Ark of Yamato. He looked over his shoulder to see the flames burn brightly as they destroyed his home, screams of pain and terror echoing through the skies. Tears flowed down his grimy cheeks as everything he loved was burned. He tried to stop himself from crying harder as he jump aboard the ark. He saw swarms of demons approach, ready to stop and kill him, but he quickly shut the metal door before they reached it. A horrid sound of nails on hard metal caused him to cringe. Waka wasted no time and started up the ark, which slowly rose into the sky, leaving the tragedy below. Waka silently sobbed as he fled his world, not knowing where the ark was to take him.

* * *

He must have passed out from either exhaustion or blood loss. The Ark of Yamato was no longer moving, he could tell, and slowly, he sat up. He felt dizzy and his vision was somewhat blurred. He was confused for a moment of why he was there, before remembering the slaughter. How much time that had passed since then he wasn't sure of. He suddenly felt nauseous at the thought of all that blood and covered his mouth with his hand. Waka brushed blond strands away from his face before trying to stand up, leaning on the wall for support. He wasn't to sure what to do now. He assumed he was far from the lunar realm, but where he had landed now; it could be far worse than where he had come from. But what did he have to lose?

Caususly, Waka made his way to the entrance of the Ark. He paused for a moment before opening the large door of the ark. He was greeted by a near blinding white light. He shielded his eyes with his forearm until the light dulled down. The first thing he saw were the people. They were odd, although he wasn't exactly normal either. They had light golden hair and wings attached to their temple. They wore beautiful white robes and each and every one of them was gorgeous. These strange people were surrounding the Ark of Yamato, fascinated. They seemed gentle and kind. He stepped out from the great vessel, all eyes on him.

Waka's feet finally touched ground, or more like cloud as it seemed. A man, a little heavy, approached Waka.

"Hello there. My name is Marco. We don't get many visitors here in the celestial plain. Who might you be, young man?" the man asked gently. He must have noticed how injured Waka was because a look of great concern was on his face.

"Celestial...plain?" Waka was somewhat confused. He had heard of the Celestial Plain in bedtime stories his father told him when he was far younger; that the great gods and angels lived there protecting the innocent. He had only thought of it as that, a simple story that was suppose to bring hope and faith to those who needed it. He never believed this divine realm actually existed until now.

"My name...is Waka," he spoke slowly, trying to keep himself from passing out again. He began to sway slightly, but Marco gently held him by his shoulder so that he was a light steadier. The other celestial came in close, to examine the stranger closely.

"Well then Waka, please come. You seem very injured. Allow us to help you. We can provide you with food and shelter and treatment," Marco offered kindly, helping Waka walk through the crowd of the curious. Waka was barely holding on to consciousness as he nodded, giving a tiny smile at the man's generosity. That's when he saw her.

Though his vision was blurry, he could still make her out through the masses of white and gold. A beautiful young woman with long flowing white hair and animal ears, similar to a wolf's. She wore a gorgeous red and white kimono that seemed to dance slightly in nonexistant air. What stuck Waka as most odd about this beautiful woman was probably her long, poofy tail, that was black at the tips and the mysterious red markings on her body. She was looking at him from quite a distance, but her gaze caused his heart to almost stop. Soon she was lost as he fell unconscious once again.

* * *

His eyes fluttered opened as he began to awake once more. He was in a large white room, laying on a comfortable futon. He noticed his body was no longer sore and looked down to see that his wounds had been bandaged up. He sat up slowly, trying not to hurt himself when a small giggle came from behind.

"I'm glad you are awake now, Waka, was it not," said a female voice from behind him. Waka turned his head to see the same woman again, sitting on a small cushion. Up close, she looked even more lovely than before. He gave a smile when he saw her pointy ears twitch.

"Who are...?" Waka started to ask before the woman realized she hadn't introduced herself. She cleared her throat before speaking.

"I am the sun goddess, Amaterasu. It is a pleasure to meet you, Waka," Amaterasu introduced, beaming. By her appearance, Waka had no trouble believing she was a goddess. She scooted over to sit beside the blond. She brought her face in close to his, examining it. Waka couldn't help blush at her sudden closeness. "It seems all your cuts are gone. That's good!" she said, now pulling away.

"May I ask you a question Waka?" Amaterasu asked him. Waka nodded. "Why did you come here to the Celestial Plain? It is very difficult to come here, mortal or not, so you must have come here for a reason. Where are you from?" the goddess questioned, extremely curious. Waka's face fell.

The only reason he was here was because the Ark of Yamato had brought him there. He had fled, run away because he was scared of dying. The death that was happening around him, the spilt blood everywhere one looked. The blood. Crimson blood, nauseating and heartbreaking. A single tear rolled down his cheek. Amaterasu wiped away the tear with the sleeve of her kimono, somewhat regretting her questions. Waka let out a small gasp when he felt Amaterasu wrap her arms around his slim figure, hugging him close. She was warm and his whole body seemed to relax.

"I'm sorry. You must have gone through a lot recently. You can tell me whenever you feel ready," Amaterasu apologized, feeling his sorrow. She patted his back gently before standing up. Waka looked up confused. "Please, stay here with us on the Celestial Plain for as long as you wish. It would be our pleasure." Amaterasu invited graciously, extending her arm to him. Waka took hold of it after a moment, ready for another chance at happiness.

* * *

A/N: Okay, decided to make this a two shot. The next part will be finished soon. Its been a while since I beat the game, but I still remember most of the things that happened in Waka's past. (I was crying during that time cause I thought Waka was actually dead. Bastard tricked me.) Sorry if that was a little bloody and for Waka being very OOC. I know he doesn't have to wide of an arrange of emotions but its just to me that Waka seems that he would be more open about his emotions as he was youngerand eventually decrease their visibility as time went on. I just decided to throw in Kaguya just because she is the only other moon tribe member in the game besides Waka. I don't know why I put Ammy as a human. I guess I like her in human form, that and it kind of makes the interaction between Waka and Amaterasu seem less weird. Well, thank you again for reading this and please review to tell me what you think! It is highly appreciated! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Second part! Yay! I am sooo sorry for taking so long on the second chapter! Yet again, spoilers. So beware!

* * *

Waka couldn't remember how long he had lived on the Celestial Plain. It seemed like forever since he had escape the massacre of the moon tribe, and landed at his new home. But all of it seemed like just a bad dream that he had a long time ago. Only a dream, he wished.

Waka fell backwards onto the grassy field, letting the blade of grass tickle his face. The cool breeze was relaxing and calming, and the man closed his eyes. It was days like these that made him forget. Forget all that had happened all those years ago.

"You seem comfortable Waka," a giggle came from above. Waka opened a single eye and saw Amaterasu standing above him in her usual white and red kimono. Waka couldn't help but grin at the presence of the goddess. During his time in the Celestial Plain, Amaterasu had become his best friend. She sat down beside the blond man and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

"You seem troubled," Amaterasu said as she looked off in the opposite direction. She always had a knack for telling when people were upset or saddened. Waka's smile faded for a moment, but then was put back into place.

"Not at all, ma cherie!" Waka laughed, poking her cheek with his finger. She looked back at him with a serious look.

Waka was surprised since it was rare that she looked that way. She could tell quite easily that something was bothering the youthful looking but not exactly young man.

"Please Waka, what's wrong. You always hang around here in the fields, but whenever you lay about in the grass, it usually means you're thinking. And you've been doing it a lot recently," Amaterasu explained quietly, placing her soft hand ontop of is. Waka turned away from her curious, concerned eyes.

"You are quite observant." Waka sighed. Something had been bothering him for several days now, but he never wanted to burden others with his problems. But he knew nothing stayed hidden when it came to Amaterasu. The wolf like goddess's ears twitched when Waka began to speak.

"It's just that I... had a strange dream, that's all," Waka whispered slowly. His gaze seemed distant, which worried the girl. She stroked the man's smooth hands comfortingly, urging him to continue. "In my dream...there was a man. He was odd looking, with black hair and a beard. He was dressed in white armor, with symbols similar to yours, Amaterasu. He carried a large sword. In the dream, this man he..." Waka's voice trailed off. Amaterasu moved so she could see the man's lovely face. The usually carefree face was now drenched in confusion and worry. It was very unlike him.

"What? What did this man do in your dream?" Amaterasu asked intrigued. Waka now sat up, brushing off blades of grass off of his purple hakuma pants. He placed his chin in his palm and started to speak once more.

"He killed this... enormous eight headed snake. And he, this man, was being helped by a strange wolf. It also had markings, very similar to yours actually. On its back was a strange metal disk that seemed to be on fire. It was odd. I woke up shortly after that," Waka finished, causing the goddess to cock her head. An eight headed snake was not exactly common. But what struck her as odd was that her symbols came up quite a bit.

"Ever since I had that dream a few days ago, I-I just have been having this bad feeling," Waka spoke softly. Amaterasu was concerned and didn't like her friend to be so worried. She smiled slightly.

"Don't worry Waka. Everything will be fine. Do you think anything bad could ever happen here in the Celestial Plain? The worst thing here is bathing!" Amaterasu assures. Waka couldn't help laughing. Amaterasu's mortal enemy really was cleanliness. Although he never saw he never once saw her dirty, nor did she ever stink, despite the fact that she never bathed. It was a puzzle to him. But as he laughed with her, the feeling of uneasiness did not go away.

* * *

It had been two days since Waka had told Amaterasu of his dream. The uneasiness only seemed to increase, but he did his best to ignore it. Amaterasu was right; nothing like that could possibly happen here. The blond brushed his shoulder length hair out of his view. It was unusually windy today, and the man's hair danced all about. He looked about, but did not see the person he was looking for, Amaterasu. They were supposed to meet up around now but the goddess hadn't showed. Suddenly, a wave of uneasiness swept over him, and he knew he couldn't ignore it this time. Several celestials near him looked up at the sky, and fear spread across their faces. Waka joined in at looking up and saw the usually bright sky slowly growing darker and clouded. A chill ran down his sky.

"Waka!" a voice came from further up. Waka saw Amaterasu running, holding up her kimono slightly to prevent herself from tripping over it. She looked incredibly panicked. She tripped over her own feet and would have almost fell flat on her face if Waka hadn't caught her. She took a minute to catch her breath before looking up at him scared.

"Waka! Something is coming!" Amaterasu yelled. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him. "Come with me!" Waka followed behind her, and she released her grip on him. The two ran, kept running until a large shattering sound forced then to stop. They looked up to see a large crack in the sky, black light pouring through.

"Impossible," Waka muttered as the scream of the celestials peirced the air. The crack began to widen, as if something was trying to break through.

"Never has this happened before here in the Celestial Plain," Amaterasu started. "But it is my duty as a god to stop it." The wolf goddess rose her hands up into the air, and a green mist began to form. It molded itself into what looked like a green, metal disk, and it began to solidify. Soon, it was solid, and red flames spat out from the sides. She brought it down in front of her, it hovering a few inches above her skin. Waka was surprised at the sudden appearance of the strange object. The white haired goddess looked back at the man, serious.

"Would you help me?" she asked. Waka's hand fell down to his side. After a moment, he gripped onto Pillowtalk and drew it out, the metal shining. He held it in front of himself, looking at it before nodding.

"Of course, ma cherie," Waka grinned, Amaterasu smiled slightly before refocusing her attention on the expanding crack. Something seemed to be peeking in through the crack. Suddenly, the entire sky seemed to shatter, the shards turning to dust. Celestials started to flee and scream, terrified. Waka and Amaterasu stood their ground as a large, shadowed figure started to emerge from the gap. A head extended out, the head of a snake with glowing red eyes and a helmet shaped like flames. The creature let out a horrific roar that sent shiver down their spines. They let out a horrified gasp when another head emerged, and another, and another, and another.

Soon, above them, eight snake heads were twisting and growling, demonic aura swirling about. The great eight headed beast made its descent into the Celestial Plain, which was now full of terrified and panicking celestials. With a loud boom, the great beast landed. It was more enormous looking now than it had in the sky, and all eight heads were attached to a platform, a bell in the center. It let out a mighty roar before thrusting its heads at them, trying to grab them with razor sharp teeth.

"What is this creature?" Amaterasu asked as she moved away from the head that bore a mask resembling a purple skull and crossbone. Waka was just as confused as her, and continued to dodge the heads, one with a lightining bolt shaped mask and another with a green mask that covered one of its eyes. Suddenly, pain exploded into his head.

_Nagi._

"Waka! Are you okay?" Amaterasu hollered as she used her reflector to stop a laser from the the snake head with a white, spiked mask. Waka's felt dizzy, and the snake took advantage. The one with a boulder mask on its face slammed itself into the ground, the shock wave sending Waka flying. He landed onto the ground with a loud thud.

"WAKA!"

_The mortal realm._

Suddenly, Waka remembered his dream. The man in armor who killed the eight headed snake. Was Nagi the name of the man who was supposed to kill this monstrosity? How had he had a dream about this same creature before the Celestial Plain even knew of its existence, and a dream of its death?

"A-Amaterasu! I know how to kill it! But we are the ones to do so!" he yelled to the goddess as he jumped up, avoiding another shock wave. The white haired goddess turned to Waka confused.

"What are you talking about! We are the only ones who can defeat this thing is us!" Amaterasu shouted as she avoided the flames of the main head. Waka's head began to hurt a little more and he gripped it in his sword free hand.

_Orochi_

"The only one who can defeat Orochi is a mortal named Nagi!" the blond man explained as he tried to slice at one of the heads, only to find a golden force field preventing Pillowtalk from doing any damage. He moved just in time to avoid a small cloud of toxic gas. Amaterasu looked at him like he was nuts.

"You think a mortal could defeat this thing?" Amaterasu laughed at the idea as she reflected another beam. Then she noticed the serious look on the blond man's face. She had never seen her friend look so serious in his life.

"Yes. I'm sure of it. It is a man named Nagi from the mortal realm." Waka brushed his long hair out of his face, and tried to strike the beast again. It was another failed attempt. Amaterasu was thrown back by a shock wave, and let out a sharp cry. Waka noticed and turned to help only to be caught in the middle of a small tornado. It threw him into a now dying tree. He fell to the floor, and was having a difficult time getting up. Amaterasu got back quickly to her feet and ran over to Waka, who had a small trail of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

"I am fine, ma cherie. But please, you have to trust me on this!" Waka pleaded to her, gripping his chest. It felt like he might have broken a rib or two as well. Amaterasu looked at Waka with uncertain reddish brown eyes. She then let out a sigh. She helped Waka up to his feet, where he was wobbly for a moment.

"I-I believe you Waka. Since mortals cannot reach the Celestial Plain, I shall bring Orochi down to the realm of mortals. As for you Waka, I need you to gather the Celestials and take them someplace safe!" Amaterasu instructed as she raised her green reflector into the air. It evaporated into a greenish mist. "In order for me to take Orochi down to the mortal realm, I must change my form," Amaterasu explained.

Her entire body began to glow with a soft light. Her body began to shrink and her face began to morph. He close slipped off her changing body and snow white fur started to sprout from her skin. In a matter of moments, Waka let out a gasp at the goddesses new appearance. She had changed herself into a beautiful white wolf, red markings still covering her face and body. The green flaming reflector hovered above her back. She let out a snarl as she began to charge at Orochi on all fours. She was far faster than in her other form. Waka watched in amazement as she easily dodge his heads. The man then remembered his job of getting the Celestials to safety.

* * *

Waka searched the Celestial Plain for the winged beings. It took him what seemed like forever to find them, but eventually he found them hidding, cowering in fear behind the Ark of Yamato, which had stayed untouched for many, many years. Whuch gave the blond man an idea.

"Everybody! Please! You need to board the Ark of Yamato! I can get you all to safety!"Waka ordered loudly so that everyone could hear him. The celestials hesitated not, and most of them ran as fast as they could onto the steel ark. Waka watched as everyone made there way on, making sure to see no one got left behind. Once all the celestials were on, he himself came aboard. He took one final glance at the Celestial Plain, hoping Amaterasu was okay and had already managed to get Orochi to the other plain, before the door closed.

Waka immediately went to go and steer, not sure of where to take them. Suddenly, a chilled ran down his spine. He wasn't sure why, but he had a bad feeling.

* * *

One celestial, a young boy, had decided to look around the great ark. He took in all the features in amazement. All of a sudden, a shadow caught his eye. Foolishly, the boy went closer to the mysterious shadow. The last thing he saw were its deep red eyes and the swift movement of a claw.

The entire ship heard the horrified scream of the boy. The celestials began to panic as shadows began to emerge from everywhere. The shadows began to solidify, taking on the shape of different colored imps. They began to pounce on the celestial beings, riping them to shreds. They tried to run, but there was no place to run to. Crimson blood began to coat the floor and bodies fell to soak in in. Screams echoed through the entire vessel.

* * *

Waka wasn't sure what was happening. All he heard were the screams. He became frightened, remembering the night of the moon tribe's masacre, all the screaming. He turned around only to hear vicious clawing at his door. He stepped as far away as he could. The door came flying of the hinges, hurtling towards him. He ducked just in time. Several imps stormed inside, some holding flute and lute weapons, others holding small drums. With a quick movements, the demons fell with the power of Pillowtalk. Unfortunately, more and more came, making it hard for him to steer. The ark jerked. Waka took another slash at the demons, causing them all to fall.

Suddenly a large black imp charge into the small room and with a quick moment, tossed him like he was nothing. Its sharp claws slice his side, blood soaking into his clothes. He hit the wall, banging his head. He struggled to keep consciousness. Now without a driver, the Ark of Yamato began to descend at a frightening pace. Waka used all of his energy to stand up and race to the steering wheel. Unfortunately, the black imp stood in his path, and took another swipe at his will blood covered claws. Waka blocked the attack with his sword. He tried to kill the beast, but it was too powerful for him. Suddenly, the entire ark shook and there came a loud crash. Waka was forced down by the magnitude of the crash, as well was the imp.

The Ark of Yamato had crashed into the realm of mortals.

Waka took advantage of the fallen imp and stabbed it though its middle. Waka wiped the blood off his sword and ran down into the main area of the vessel, only to nearly vomit.

Blood. Crimson blood everywhere. The floor. The walls. The ceiling. And the bodies. The bodies of the celestials no longer had the glow they used to. They were dull, wings limp, blond hair soaked with their and everyone's blood. Waka felt tears well up in his eyes.

It had been a trap.

The horrific imps began to flee the ark, escaping into the mortal realm. They turned into a black mist and flew off into different directions. Filled with grief and anger, Waka, with his mighty Pillowtalk, flew in a rage and killed roughly half of the hoard. In a matter of minutes, he was soaked in their blood.

The room suddenly became dark, darker than it had been. The blond man turned to see a mysterious figure. It seemed like a giant hovering orb. Its very prescence seemed to suck the oxygen right out of his lungs. His entire body shook as he stared up at it, it was nearly 5 times his size.

"A great evil rests inside...," Waka whispered as he remembered what his father had told him so many years ago. Was this what they had been talking about. Was this the evil being they had called Yami? The giant orb began too to turn into a black mist, far thicker than the others. The mist flew out from the ark, escaping out into the snowy surroundings, and into the land of mortals.

The stories had been true. He had ignore the warning he had been told. He had caused the death every single Celestial. He had doomed the mortal realm it was all his fault. All his fault. Waka fell to his knees, celestial blood slowly being soaked into the material of his hakuma. It was his fault.

* * *

Waka woke up with a small scream. It was the same dream again. He was always plagued with his memories playing before him in his dreams, repeating like a broken record. He wiping the sweat away from his brow and tried to calm himself down. He then remembered where he was, and tried to maintain balance. He was high above the ground, laying on a tree branch on one of Agata Forest's tall tree. He was high enough to avoid most of the damage of the evil curse zone. He stood up, waiting.

As if by magic, the curse zone began to disappear in a burst of flower petals and gentle winds. Out of a small cave came a white wolf with a small bouncing Poncle on its snout. He pulled out a small flute and began to play. This caught the wolf's and Poncle's attention as they search for the mysterious, yet beautiful sound. Waka gave a small smile. He jumped down slowly to a lower branch that was in their line of view. The two looked up him with curious eyes.

It had been a little over 100 years since he had last seen Amaterasu. Aside from Waka's even longer hair, hidden beneath his helmet, neither of them had changed with one major exception. She didn't remember who he was. Forgotten when she had been reincarnated. And that torn his heart to pieces. But he had no time to think of it. He had business to do.

"Hark, the call of the heavens, the earth, the sea. They summon me to defeat evil. Waka, the god's gift to man is here! Bonjour!"

He was going to make things right.

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry for taking so long on this chapter. I forgot that I had been doing this one. Well, anyway, I love Waka! He is so awesome! Oh, and for those who don't know, ma cherie is french for my dear.

I can't wait for the sequel to Okami, Okamiden. It is so cute! Although Chibiterasu hops like a bunny. I have to earn money for a DS so I can play it though.

Well, thank you again for reading, and please review on the way out. Thank you!^^


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